Country Report on Terrorism 2023 - Chapter 1 - North Macedonia

Overview:  The country’s counterterrorism efforts during 2023 included harmonizing strategic documents with EU legislation and international standards, strengthening capacity to investigate and prosecute terrorism-related crimes, and exchanging information to prevent radicalization to violence, combat terrorism, and reintegrate returnees.

In May the government adopted national CT and CVE strategies and their respective action plans, which focus on prevention, online radicalization to violence, “right-wing extremism,” reintegration, the need for specialized trainings for police officers and social workers, and updated strategic priorities, including the establishment of a database of returnees.  North Macedonia cooperated with U.S. CT efforts, including in early detection.  The main perceived terrorist threats stemmed from previously repatriated FTFs from Syria and Iraq, and domestic “extremist” terrorism.  The National Committee for Countering Violent Extremism and Countering Terrorism (NCCVECT) estimated that 143 citizens of North Macedonia (excluding children) traveled or attempted to travel to Syria or to Iraq, or both, to join terrorist groups in recent years.  Of these 143 adults (133 males, 10 females), only four are believed to remain in a displaced persons camp in northeast Syria.  By the end of 2023, North Macedonia had repatriated 19 displaced and 11 detained nationals from northeast Syria.  Authorities assessed the terrorist threat level to be “medium,” considering the war in Ukraine, developments in the Middle East, and the presence of former ISIS members and sympathizers.

2023 Terrorist Incidents:  There were no terrorist incidents reported in 2023.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security:  North Macedonia’s legislative framework allows for prosecution of suspects and accomplices in terrorist activities or individuals participating in foreign wars.  Sentencing for terrorism-related offenses improved significantly, compared with previous years and with other Western Balkans countries.  The U.S. Department of Justice provided mentoring and battlefield evidence to case prosecutors and investigators.  Authorities did not repatriate any individuals in 2023.

• In July the Skopje Appellate Court increased the sentence of an FTF repatriated in 2021 for spreading ISIS propaganda from six to eight years in prison.  The convict was already serving a 10-year prison sentence for participation in a foreign army and ISIS recruitment, and the combined 18-year prison sentence was the highest ever imposed in North Macedonia against an FTF.
• In August the Organized Crime and Corruption Public Prosecution Office indicted two FTFs for their participation in an enemy army.

The U.S. State Department’s Antiterrorism Assistance Program (ATA) administered nine training sessions for government entities on building investigative capacity of the law enforcement units and offered full-time mentorship by ATA-contracted senior police advisers.  The CT Sector carried out a successful transnational investigation using ATA investigation methods, subsequently identifying and arresting three FTFs in collaboration with another partner nation.

The U.S. International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program provided training for women in law enforcement on using tools in terrorism prosecutions, forensics and CT investigations, terrorism in correctional institutions, and interviewing and interrogating foreign terrorist fighters.  North Macedonia continued its partnership with the United States on traveler screening tools, including Advance Passenger Information and Passenger Name Record data.  The Border Police Passenger Information Unit increased the number of staff from three to seven, allowing the unit to operate 24/7.  Individuals previously convicted of terrorist acts attempted to escape from Idrizovo prison by digging a tunnel.  The individuals were stopped shortly before their tunnel was completed.  The Ministry of Interior CT/CVE Sector remained understaffed and lacked resources and equipment necessary to accomplish its mission.  There was no significant REMVE activity, but OSCE-supported research showed more than a dozen NGOs in the country manifested signs of support for “right wing” violent extremism.

Countering Terrorist Financing:  North Macedonia is a member of MONEYVAL (the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism), and its Financial Intelligence Unit, the Financial Intelligence Office (FIO), is a member of the Egmont Group.  In 2023 the FIO received three reports for suspicion of terrorist financing from obliged entities and 17 initiations from competent authorities, and it submitted six reports on suspicion of terrorist financing to competent authorities for processing.  There were no significant changes in 2023.

Countering Violent Extremism:  Government and civil society stakeholders, with the support of European Commission experts, finalized the 2023-27 National CVE Strategy, which the government adopted in May.

Local Prevention Councils (LPCs), Community Action Teams (CATs), and Local Multidisciplinary Teams (LMTs) worked on preventing and countering violent extremism and building resilient communities at the local level.  Thirteen municipal LPCs were functional, but only five were consistently active, and six municipalities had regularly active CATs.

The nine LMTs consist of social workers, community leaders, and religious group representatives who work on reintegrating FTFs and their associated family members.  IOM and the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) provide support to the NCCVECT and the LMTs.

State institutions and private companies continued to implement the 2022 Memorandum of Cooperation in Countering Violent Radicalization with the EU to address online radicalization to violence.

International and Regional Cooperation:  North Macedonia continued its participation in the implementation of the EU Western Balkans Joint Action Plan on counterterrorism.  During the year, North Macedonia also strengthened its cooperation with Europol (the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation) and Eurojust (the EU Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation) and continued to implement multiyear prevention and reintegration projects.

The country participated in regional Western Balkans projects funded by GCERF, Hedayah, the Strong Cities Network, the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law, the EU, the OSCE, IOM, and numerous other regional activities with other international partners.  In 2023, North Macedonia joined the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.